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Joan E. Morrell
PUTNAM — Joan (Berthiaume) Morrell, 80, of Elvira Heights died Feb. 7, 2018, at home. She was the wife of Albert J. Morrell for 62 years. Born in 1937 in Putnam, she was the daughter of the late Aldege “Dave” and Edith (Diggins) Berthiaume.
Joan worked for American Optical in the safety division. She enjoyed reading and traveling.
She leaves her son, David Morrell (Susan) of Canterbury; her daughters Deborah Apostolik (Jack) of Leesburg, Fla., and Christine Lynch (Bill) of Spencer, Mass.; her grandchildren, Tiffany Chabot, Stephanie Daniels, Michael Kroell, and Joseph Kroell; and her two great-granddaughters, Abrielle and Natalie Rose.
The Mass of Christian Burial was Feb. 12 in St. Mary Church of the Visitation, Putnam, with burial in St. Mary Cemetery. Donations: Oncology Department at Day Kimball Hospital. 12 Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory 104 Church St., Putnam.
R. ‘Tom’ Musumeci
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Feb. 2, 2018, Rosario “Tom” Thomas Musumeci of Boynton Beach, died in the TrustBridge Hospice in Boynton Beach. He fought cancer —glioblastoma brain tumor.
Tom was born Nov. 26, 1942, in Mellili, Sicily Italy to the late Giuseppe and Vincenza (DiMauro) Musumeci. Tom arrived at Ellis Island on Aug. 17, 1948, with his father while his mother and older sister, Sebastiana (Nella), had come to the U.S. the year before.
Tom lived in Middletown where he played Little League Baseball, becoming a member of the Connecticut Allstar Championship Team in 1953. He was a member of the Middletown High School Class of 1962, where he earned 11 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. He was awarded the Connecticut Scholastic Art Gold Key for his water color painting of the Charles W. Morgan Whaling Ship at Mystic Seaport. As a state winner, his painting was on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Scholastic in 1960.
Tom began college in the fall of 1962 at Becker Junior College where he earned an associate’s degree in accounting and met the love his life, Jeri Lee Carpenter of Woodstock. They were married on Dec. 5, 1964, at St. Sebastian Church in Middletown.
While working and raising a young family in Woodstock Tom earned his bachelor’s degree at Nichols College in Dudley graduating in May 1970.
With some free time, he volunteered to coach local Senior and Little Leagues in Putnam and Woodstock. He coached for over 20 years, starting before his children were old enough to play ball. He knew he could make a difference to the community by offering equipment and transportation to disadvantaged youth. All were welcome on Tom’s teams as long as they could put on a baseball cap over their long hair! It was the ‘70s! His love of art never dwindled, he would stop at any or all art galleries no matter where he traveled, especially during a trip to Italy in 2005. It was a must to see the work of his favorite artists, from Sicily to Rome to Florence, Venice, and Milan, all the while providing his wife, Jeri with a rich history lesson from each.
Tom was a 48-year member in the BPO Elks Lodge 574 in Putnam and a member of the Knights of Columbus for many years as well. In retirement Tom’s passions were golfing and writing, having completed three novels.
He leaves his wife Jeri of 53 years; his three sons Brian (Selena) and Joseph (Karen) of Woodstock, Scott of Orlando, Fla.; one daughter Gina (Jason) Werner of Hartford; seven grandchildren: Mikayla, Shealyn, Thomas, Ella Rose, Giulia and Gianna of Woodstock and Nicholas of Palm Coast, Fla.; three sisters, Sebastiana (C. Richard) Rose of Florida, Ann Marie (Robert) Rogers, and Santina (Dale) Aldieri of Middletown; his father-in-law, Walter E. Johnson (Doris) of Daytona Beach, FL; brothers-in-law Richard (Jeanne) Johnson of Thompson, and Alan (Donna) Johnson of Brunswick, Ga.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23 at Smith and Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam. The Mass of Christian Burial gathering will be at 10:15 a.m. Feb. 24 at the funeral home and the Mass will be at 11 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Church, Pomfret. Donations: To honor Tom and his love of art and athletics — the Rosario “Tom” Musumeci Memorial Fund for the Arts and Athletics to benefit students and/or programs in these areas. Donations can be mailed to: The Woodstock Academy Office of Advancement, 57 Academy Road, Woodstock, CT
Richard O. Davis
BROOKLYN — Richard O. Davis, 84, of Brooklyn died Feb. 11, 2018, at Davis Place in Danielson. Richard was born Aug. 23, 1933, in Plainfield, the son of the late Russell and Margaret (Dailey) Davis.
He was the husband of the late Shirley Ann (Bolduc) Davis.
Richard worked at William Prym Inc. in Dayville until its closing, and later worked at Electric Boat in Groton. He along with his wife Shirley owned and operated S&R Gardens in Brooklyn. Richard was kind and giving to everyone.
He leaves his children Dianne Berube (Larry) of Dayville, Debra Sullivan (Jerry) of Brooklyn, Robert Davis (Madeleine) of Brooklyn and Gary Davis (Linda) of North Carolina; 10 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held at a later date in Westfield Cemetery, Danielson. Tillinghast Funeral Home, Danielson.
Dick W. Ploof
MANSFIELD, Mass. — Richard (Dick) W. Ploof, 70, formerly of Danielson, died Feb. 4, 2018, at the Hope Hospice in Providence.
He was born Nov. 17, 1947, in Jefferson, Vt., the son of the late Herbert and Florence Mae (Eldred) Ploof.
Dick worked as a cross country truck driver his entire working life. He was a kind hearted man.
He leaves his children Tracy Caffrey (Jason) of Brooklyn, Barbara Busch (David) of Tolland, Becky Langlais (Roger) of Wakefield, R.I., Meagan Ploof of Endicott, N.Y., and Richard Ploof of Tunkhannock, Penn.; brother Donald Ploof (Maria) of Mansfield, Mass.; 10 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister Luella Couture and brother Roger Ploof.
The Funeral was Feb. 8 in Tillinghast Funeral Home, Danielson, with burial in Holy Cross Cemetery, Danielson.
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